Terrence Howard Sued for Assault, Defamation by Ex-Wife

The complaint filed Tuesday states the 'Empire' lead punched, kicked and strangled her.

Terrence Howard's ex-wife filed suit against the actor Tuesday claiming he assaulted her in 2013.

In the civil complaint filed in Los Angeles, Michelle Howard claims the alleged assault took place while they were staying in a rental house in Costa Rica.

The complaint describes that on the evening of July 29, 2013, Howard "followed Plaintiff into the restroom of the rental house and punched her on the left side of her face. Defendant also grabbed Plaintiff by her neck and pushed her against the bathroom wall and strangled her for several seconds," states the complaint. The filing continues he "grabbed her neck again and pinned her against the shower glass and her head hit the wall" when she tried to flee the room, leading the actor's son-in-law Billy to intervene.

"While Billy tried to pry Defendant's hands from Plaintiff's neck, Defendant whispered to Plaintiff, 'Remember what I told you in Bora Bora? That is what I'm gonna do,' referring to a prior instance where Defendant told Plaintiff that her body would never leave the island," states the complaint. "Plaintiff interpreted the reference to mean that Defendant was going to kill her."

Later on the evening of July 29, claims Michelle, he charged at her and she pepper-sprayed him in the face. "Defendant continued swinging his arms and caused Plaintiff to fall down. While Plaintiff was on the ground, Defendant repeatedly mule-kicked Plaintiff in the head and shoulders," states the complaint.

She claims assault and battery, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. In the same complaint, she claims he defamed her by "mak[ing] false accusations disseminated to the public through the media that Plaintiff had made death threats and other threats against Defendant and his family through various social media accounts."

She doesn't specify damages.

This is not the first time the Empire star has been accused of spousal abuse. He was arrested in 2001 on charges of assaulting his then-wife Lori McCommas, and in Michelle's 2011 divorce papers she claimed he repeatedly threatened and hit her throughout their marriage. In 2013, she received a restraining order against him on claims including the allegations regarding the Costa Rica trip in the Tuesday complaint.

Howard and executives for Fox, which airs Empire, were questioned about the accusations at the Television Critics Association's winter tour in January. Fox TV group chairs Dana Walden and Gary Newmanclaimed they weren't aware of the accusations until December 2014, when they were already in business with him. "A lot of the things I did were the product of not knowing how to deal with frustration, not knowing who Terrence Howard is," said the actor. "I've grown so much from anything that's happened in the past."

^^^ yep, the season finale was shot after people had started watching and the hype was on, so they threw everything at it...which points to why i think season 2 might suck]]>
Fri, 24 Jul 2015 18:17:21 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11229609.html#11229609http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11229570.html#11229570
Author: melikeySubject: 370885Posted: Jul 24 2015 at 4:54pm

zolloh wrote:

im afraid the 2nd season will suck

If the writers thought they did a good job on the season finale, then yep]]>
Fri, 24 Jul 2015 16:54:56 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11229570.html#11229570http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11229564.html#11229564
Author: zollohSubject: 370885Posted: Jul 24 2015 at 4:35pm

Empire fans, you have less than four months to wait until the hit Fox drama returns.

Taraji P. Henson, who has made her character Cookie into a household name, and Empire's writers tweeted today that Season 2 will premiere Sept. 23, the first Wednesday of the traditional TV premiere week.

It's not a big surprise, since most returning series come back in the week following the Primetime Emmys, which are scheduled for Sept. 20. But, at least fans of Cookie, Lucious & Co. can start crossing the days off their calendars.]]>
Fri, 29 May 2015 16:42:16 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11201384.html#11201384http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193859.html#11193859
Author: Sang FroidSubject: 370885Posted: May 12 2015 at 11:24pm

cool. so you'll keep her distracted while I talk to Lenny]]>
Tue, 12 May 2015 23:00:00 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193858.html#11193858http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193856.html#11193856
Author: nitabugSubject: 370885Posted: May 12 2015 at 10:56pm

I hope more and more Black actors get parts in this show. ]]>
Tue, 12 May 2015 22:12:03 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193848.html#11193848http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193847.html#11193847
Author: NJHairLuvSubject: 370885Posted: May 12 2015 at 10:05pm

PurplePhase wrote:

I wonder if Taraji has a crush on Lenny like all other women? lol

She HAS to.I met him at my friend's birthday bash and he was so magnetic...I'll bet that he will be a medical professional like he was in the movie Precious...Andre's psychiatrist...]]>
Tue, 12 May 2015 22:05:42 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193847.html#11193847http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193833.html#11193833
Author: PurplePhaseSubject: 370885Posted: May 12 2015 at 9:29pm

I wonder if Taraji has a crush on Lenny like all other women? lol]]>
Tue, 12 May 2015 21:29:54 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193833.html#11193833http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193829.html#11193829
Author: purple.chuckzSubject: 370885Posted: May 12 2015 at 9:27pm

PurplePhase wrote:

that article is missing the most important part LOL. my Lenny!

<<Chris Rock, Lenny Kravitzand Alicia Keysare among the A-list guest stars already lined up for the new season...>>

They've earned that increase.I'm hopeful for some strong new episodes. The season finally should have been more focused.]]>
Mon, 11 May 2015 13:51:48 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193265.html#11193265http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11193190.html#11193190
Author: K_CamilleSubject: 370885Posted: May 11 2015 at 12:00pm

Fox expands Empire in season 2

Fox is expanding its breakout mega-hit Empire. Fox chairman and CEO Gary Newman confirmed he’s boosting Empire’s episode count in the second season to 18 episodes, versus the 12 episodes that aired during its debut season this year.

Also, with Empire launching in the fall instead of midseason, the network plans to split its 18-episode second run into two halves.

The Terrence Howard-starring hip-hop drama made a record-breaking splash in its debut on Wednesday nights, defying gravity by continuing to grow with each subsequent episode. Its season finale snagged 16.7 million viewers and a 6.5 in the 18-49 demographic. Going into the upfronts, one big question was whether Fox would move Empire to Thursday nights, which is the most lucractive weekday for advertising. But doing so would also mean that Empire would likely face ABC’s own powerhouse, Scandal, at 9 p.m.

“We’d be crazy to move it,” Fox chairman and CEO Gary Newman told reporters ahead of the network’s upfront presentation on Monday morning. “We want to thank and reward our fans by keeping it in that time period… The stories we’ve heard already for season 2 will blow away the audience.”

While Fox does not plan to re-air Empire ahead of the second season—you can watch the full season on Hulu now—the network has a number of ideas to keep the show on viewers’ minds before its return.

“We’ve got a lot of big events scheduled,” Fox’s other chairman and CEO Dana Walden said. “The cast has been out—Jussie [Smollett] and Yazz [Grey]—performing in various markets. They’ve done mall tours [and] performed in smaller venues. Taraji [P. Henson] hosted Saturday Night Live. We’ve got some exciting plans that will kick off in June.” Though Walden declined to get more specific, she did point out that Fox is planning to give the cast some much needed rest time before season 2—a smart move after the cast of Glee seemed to suffer from exhaustion after year-round promotion.

As for the second season, Walden notes, “We’ve also got amazing guest stars that have lined up to be on the show that will help us not only bring back an audience that fell in love with the show, but help expand it as well.” Empire has also signed Ne-Yo to write new original music with Timbaland for the second out.

Somewhat related...i was gonna give ole sweaty mouth new show wayward pines a try til they said M nightshamalblbalah had something to do with it.]]>
Sun, 03 May 2015 22:15:46 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189528.html#11189528http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189525.html#11189525
Author: K_CamilleSubject: 370885Posted: May 03 2015 at 10:07pm

They are, however, being sued. lol.]]>
Sun, 03 May 2015 22:07:32 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189525.html#11189525http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189524.html#11189524
Author: K_CamilleSubject: 370885Posted: May 03 2015 at 10:06pm

It's not cancelled. Cancellation rumors started from a satire website I think. Jussie confirmed Season 2 is on.]]>
Sun, 03 May 2015 22:06:57 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189524.html#11189524http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189446.html#11189446
Author: GkissesSubject: 370885Posted: May 03 2015 at 7:40pm

Dude reaching with that comparison and Fox isnt in the position to cancel a successful show with its otherwise low ratings.]]>
Sun, 03 May 2015 19:40:56 +0000http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189446.html#11189446http://Forum.BlackHairMedia.com/empire-taraji-and-terence-h-together-again_topic370885_post11189442.html#11189442
Author: PurplePhaseSubject: 370885Posted: May 03 2015 at 7:34pm

^^yep, not true.

someone just sent me news of the cancellation too.

from SNOPES=

Origins: In March 2015, the entertainment web site News Buzz Daily published an article reporting that Fox had cancelled a second season of the hit show Empire:

After record breaking views of Fox's newest show Empire has been cancelled. Initially, on January 17, the show was renewed for a second season but now Fox has rescinded Empire opportunity for a second season. Produced by Lee Daniels and staring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, the show was a success and many viewers tuned in weekly for the musical drama. It is said that the show is loosely based off hip hop mogul, Jay-Z's life.

Foxs public relations representative, Charles McRae, has stated that the reason for the cancellation is due to contractual negotiations. According to Fox, pay towards Lee Daniels and Danny Strong's production camp were the main determining factors in the cancellation. It is said that two parties could not reach an acceptable agreement and when things heated up behind the curtains, Fox abruptly pulled the plug on the show.

The above-referenced article initially was largely unnoticed until the rumor was picked up by more legitimate entertainment outlets. The web site Bossip, for instance, published an article referencing the News Buzz Daily story.

Although some media publications may be speculating about the future of Empire, these rumors originated with a fake news web site. A disclaimer at the bottom of News Buzz Daily's pages states that all articles are for "for entertainment and satirical purposes only."

The official Empire Twitter account has also debunked the rumors:

image: http://www.snopes.com/media/graphics/empiretwitterfake.jpg

Last updated: 21 April 2015Read more at http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/empire.asp#IupL6UEzxGZu4WdD.99